US doesn't want dispute

Avery Goldstein, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania

Although some argue that the US will come to Manila's aid if the situation around Huangyan Island keeps escalating, I do not think that the US welcomes this dispute at all. On the contrary, I think the US sees it as a dangerous development rather than any kind of benefit.

The US reemphasis on its interests in Asia rests on fundamentals that are independent of this particular dispute between China and the Philippines, though these interests mean that the US sees the dispute as a worrisome development.

The US would prefer that the dispute had been averted, but now that it has developed, the US wants to see it managed peacefully.

I don't anticipate the US to act as a mediator, nor have I heard of plans for it to do so, unless both the Philippines and China express an interest in the US playing such a role.

Freedom of sea at stake

June Teufel Dreyer, professor with the Department of Political Science at University of Miami

At present, the sovereignty claims of countries in the South China Sea region are murky. I think the real issue is freedom of navigation.

This is what prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to declare at an APEC foreign ministers meeting in Singapore in 2010 that the US hoped all parties would settle their issues through multilateral negotiations.

The Chinese delegate strongly protested and that concerned other countries.

On the other hand, I do not believe the US will benefit from a dispute between China and the Philippines. The US hasn't actually sided with Manila, although gestures like sending a submarine must seem that way.

As for the US being responsible for the defense of the Philippines, that would be an issue if a country invaded Luzon, for example, but not a disputed island.